


Before It's Too Late

by mercy_angel_09



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Gen, Romance, Spoilers, post episode: s04e08 Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 12:28:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1031714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercy_angel_09/pseuds/mercy_angel_09
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the sound of a gunshot, four people scramble to make sure they're not too late. </p>
<p>Spoilers for through season four, episode eight, "Crush."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Before It's Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> I should be working on NaNo and wrote this instead. Cheers!

At the sound of a gunshot, four people go racing up the stairs to the loft above the Grey Gull. If the situation weren’t so dire, Duke would probably be laughing at how fast Vince and Dave are moving. Who knew the old geezers could move like that?

But they’re so worried that nobody cares how fast the Teagues are moving. All they care about is finding if things have gone from bad to worse. Duke throws the French doors open, and fears the worst. Fears finding Nathan lying dead on the ground and Audrey standing over him. Fears that this is his fault because he couldn’t accept that it’s his fate to help people.

They find Nathan on the floor, pale and bleeding. But the wound is from his side and not the center of his chest. The quartet lets out a small sigh of relief.

Without thinking Jennifer has already pulled her cell phone out and is calling the paramedics. Duke begins to administer first aid while the Teagues go to where Audrey is sitting on the floor, the gun lying beside her.

“I couldn’t do it,” she cries as she draws her knees up against her chest. “I know it’s selfish but I couldn’t do it.”

The Teagues exchange a look before looking at Duke. Duke swallows the knot in his throat and nods. “He’ll live. The bullet grazed his side. It’s deeper than most, but as long as I can stop the bleeding he should live.”

Looking down at Nathan’s wan face, Duke finds that he has nothing to say. “I’m sorry” is inadequate, especially if Nathan has no idea what’s going on.

“Am I dying?” Nathan asks. Duke winces.

“Nah, buddy, you’re gonna live. Turns out Audrey’s a lousy shot at close range,” Duke jokes.

“But the Troubles…” Nathan gasps. He may not be able to feel the pain but that hasn’t stopped his body from going into shock from blood loss.

“Screw the Troubles,” Duke says, and he finds that he means it. It’s not worth losing his best friends.

“But…”

“Damn it, Nathan, no buts!” He shakes his head. “I was wrong. We were all wrong. If Audrey killed you we’d be royally screwed. Congratulations, you’ve just been handed a Get Out of Jail Free card.”

“How...?” Audrey says, looking between Duke and the Teagues. Jennifer has gone out on the deck to flag down the EMTs, leaving them alone.

“Because if you had killed Nathan, what was once our salvation would be our doom,” Vince says quietly. “Dave and I didn’t understand the riddle at first; it was Duke who figured it out.”

Audrey blinks as she wipes the tears from her eyes, smearing her eyeliner and mascara. “So things really have changed.”

“In ways that we cannot begin to understand,” Dave sighs. “Thank goodness you couldn’t go through with it.”

“So you know,” she says, voice shaking as she looks between the older men. “You know that I’m Audrey.”

“Yeah, sorry, it sort of slipped out,” Duke says with a grimace as he holds his wadded up shirt against Nathan’s side to staunch the flow of blood.

“I’ll have to tell the Guard. They won’t harass you,” Vince says. “You killing Nathan is the last thing we need right now.”

“Fate worse than death?” Audrey asks.

The meaningful glance between the Teagues is all the answer she needs. Audrey allows Dave to pull her to her feet and sit her on the couch as the EMTs come in to tend to Nathan. Jennifer comes over and sits with her, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Everything is gonna be fine,” she murmurs, but Audrey isn’t sure if the reassurance is meant for her, or meant to calm Jennifer.

One of the EMTs is a member of the Guard and questions why they must save Nathan. Vince manages to convey the seriousness of Nathan dying by Audrey’s hands, and given Nathan’s skill in dealing with all of the weirdness the Troubles create, it’s best to keep him alive. The man doesn’t look happy with the answer, but he accepts it.

“I need to call a meeting with the Guard,” Vince says after the EMTs have wheeled Nathan out. He gives Audrey a meaningful look. “You should call Dwight and see about getting an armed guard posted at his hospital room. I fear that some will not take kindly to the change in circumstances.”

“I’ll tell him.” The simple phrase carries multiple meanings. She’ll tell him that she shot Nathan and that he survived and now needed an armed guard at the hospital. She’ll tell him that she was Audrey all along and that she was only pretending to be Lexi to give herself an excuse not to kill Nathan. She’ll tell him that Duke was forced to kill his brother. She doesn’t know what happened, but she knows that Dwight needs to know.

There’s a heaviness that falls over her, the realization that things will no longer be as they once were. Soon the whole town will know that she is Audrey and not Lexi.

The game has changed, though, so everyone must grit their teeth and carry on.


End file.
